B&M European Value Retail has appointed Asda executive Atheeq Akbar as its new chief financial officer, ending a long period of instability in the role that began with an accounting error and a series of profit warnings. Announced on 24 June 2026, the appointment will take effect in February 2027, when Akbar joins from his role as vice president of commercial finance at Asda to become the FTSE 250 retailer's first chief financial officer since late last year.
Akbar comes with a career focused on retail finance in the UK. Prior to Asda he led the retail and manufacturing finance functions at Morrisons, becoming finance director in 2021, and previously held senior finance roles at Tesco and international experience at Etihad Airways. A chartered accountant who started his career at Deloitte and is a member of the ICAEW, he takes on what will be his first role as CFO of a public company. His salary includes a base salary of £525,000, a top annual bonus of 175% of salary with a portion deferred in shares, and a major long-term incentive award of a further 175% of base.
The appointment closes a tumultuous chapter in B&M's financial career. The retailer's previous CFO, Mike Schmidt, resigned in late 2025 after an accounting error in which nearly £7 million of overseas goods costs were incorrectly recorded in cost of goods sold, forcing the company to lower its 2026 profit guidance and prompting analysts to question the strength of its financial controls. Helen Cowling joined as interim CFO in November 2025 but left the following April after a second profit warning in January, leaving group finance controller Peter Waterhouse to step in on an interim basis – a role he will hold until Akbar officially joins in 2027.
Recruitment is at the heart of the change the company is trying to make. Chief executive Tjeerd Jegen, who launched a “Back to B&M Basics” recovery plan in late 2025 as the discounter faces stiff competition from supermarket loyalty programs and budget pressures for low-income families, has described finding the right CFO as a top priority in recent months and said Akbar's retail finance base will help deepen the business's financial base. Akbar, for his part, pointed to the huge retail opportunity in the UK and the leadership role B&M could play in it.
Bringing in an outside finance chief after internal turmoil shows the board wants to draw a line under the controls failure that cost B&M its former CFO and investor confidence. The decision to hire in direct grocery competition, instead of promoting within or looking outside the sector, points to the preference of trade experts specific to a certain sector at a time when the priority is to restore financial discipline and credibility instead of reinventing the business. The accounting error and subsequent chaos became a management issue in themselves, and the appointment of a permanent, experienced person is the clearest sign a board can give that the financial function is sustainable.
One problem is timing: Akbar won't join until February 2027, leaving Waterhouse to temporarily lead the finance function for another eight months at a critical transition stage. Shares in B&M are up about 14% so far this year but have fallen by about a third over the past twelve months, and the company beat expectations for a full-year pre-tax profit in early June as its turnaround efforts gained ground. Whether Akbar can accelerate that progress once he arrives, and rebuild confidence in the financial controls that failed under his predecessor, will determine how well this period helps return B&M to the kind of sales growth its turnaround is designed to deliver.
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